Mattie 1
by lilappleblossom
Summary: This is a collection of one-shots I wrote between sessions of my Vampire: The Masquerade tabletop game. The main character is Mattie Reux, my Ventrue brothel owner. The other character is most of the stories is The Fool. The Malkavian primogen and the man Mattie loves. He is insane, and I did my best to write him as such. He is a character of my Storyteller's creation, not mine.


_ Disclaimer; I write this stuff pretty much right after any given game session, especially one that makes me think way more about it than usual. I am completely aware this is crap and fits nowhere within the canon of our game or characters for that matter, but I had to write something just to get my ability to focus back and this is what came out of my fingers as I typed. It's not good, at all, but it helps my brain._

In one night she had fought a war, met a God, lost a Seneschal and a Sheriff, confessed her feelings for an insane man, helped reunite lost lovers and sent all of her girls off to Nod knows where. She felt she deserved some time to relax. She entered her Haven, completely empty now save for the gargoyles which obediently took to the walls to rest from the hard fought battle. She walked into the large Victorian mansion, all hers and all to herself for the first time in more than a few decades. The silence was eerie, almost painful. She was so used to the sound of high heels across the wood floor, or the giggle of her girls in the middle of business with a John. But now there was nothing.

She walked to her office and sat down at her solid ebony wood desk, surrounded by the finest décor and artwork handpicked by her over the years. She sighed and placed her face in her hands.

"What the hell am I supposed to do now?" She asked the empty room. Of course, no answer came. She lowered her hands and shook her head. "Nod damn it, Jonathan."

The Seneschal of the city, Jonathan had given up everything; his title, his property, even his right to remain in the city for his lover, the Sheriff, Sandra. Which meant they were likely to lose a Sheriff as well, whom was one of Mattie's few friends, because the only Kindred with the power to bring her back from the dead was the same that hated Jonathan for what he had forced her to do. Mattie laughed bitterly to herself; she thought they could all get along. Trust isn't something easy to come by within the Camarilla, and now people that she had thought were friends were spreading to the four winds.

Sara had Evan back, even though he was in Tampa she had no doubt that a lot of her time would be spent checking up on him. Atesh had his lover, the leader of the Valeran and a talented assassin herself as well as the one responsible for sending Jonathan away and Richard was the leader of the Gangrel within the Camarilla. So Mattie was left, alone for the first time in decades; No one to speak to about these things, no budget to balance, no purchases to be made, no Johns to take care of, just her. She only now realized how terrifying it was to be immortal and alone, she had always made it a point to have people around, she was good with people.

She thought of The Fool, the man that she had feelings for, against her every brain cell telling her that falling in love with a Malkavian was about as bad of an idea as a John falling for one of her girls. Even if he felt the same way, he was wildly unpredictable, completely out of his mind most days. But, it seemed when she was around, he was a little more lucid. She allowed her ego to hold onto the idea that maybe she could help him find some sort of balance. There was no way of curing the insanity; she knew that, it was in the Malkavian blood, the Madness. She didn't know much about their Clan but that she did know.

She, of course, had confessed her feelings while she was upset so she hadn't even given him the time to tell her whether he felt the same. Not knowing was a hundred times worse than having him reject her. She laughed at the thought of being rejected by a mad man. That would hurt, she imagined; maybe it was better not knowing.

She cleared her throat, something was building there she didn't like. It wouldn't go away and when she opened her mouth to cough it came out a slightly choked sob.

"No." She said, standing suddenly and curling her hands into fists. She wasn't going to cry, there was no reason to. They had won this war against the Sabbat, everyone had lived, and everyone was home and safe. And…And she was the only one that was left alone. She sat back down slowly and another choked sob came. She put her head on her desk and let go, there was no point holding it back. She was alone anyway, the thought only made her sob again. Blood-tears ran down her perfectly pale face as she held it in her hands. She felt the liquid fall down her palms and pulled them away from her face, staring at her now pink stained skin.

"Silence is scary, isn't it?" Came a sudden voice. She was caught so off guard she hissed as she rose up angrily to see…The Fool.

"Wh-? How? What?!" She muttered, trying desperately to wipe the blood from her face, which only smeared it. "What are you doing here?!"

"I was needed." He said smiling sadly.

"No! I mean…You…You don't leave Epcot!"

"It's…Kinda different now. I think Malkav is helping." He said staring at her.

"I didn't invite you into my Haven, Fool."

"You need some company."

"I'm fine." She said angrily. The Fool smiled and tossed her a multicolored handkerchief. She snatched it out of the air and, turning away from him, wiped her face and hands. "I don't need company…"

"You know lying to me is really dumb, right?" He asked, walking idly around the office.

"It makes me feel better." She muttered, not facing him.

"What's that?"

"Nothing. What do you want?"

"I'm just trying to make you feel better."

"I'll…Be fine." She said walking over to him and handing him his handkerchief. He took it, their hands touched for a moment and she took her hand back quickly.

"Different tune now that you haven't died." He said looking at her. She looked up at him; his eyes were two different, equally impossible colors.

"Yeah well…Better safe than sorry." She said looking away from him and sighing. "So what? You're just here to rub that in my face? I'm already embarrassed."

"Why?"

"Because…Well, because it was stupid of me."

"Why?"

"Because it just is!" She snapped. "You're…You're…And I'm…Ugh!" She threw her hands up and sat down on the soft couch in her office, putting her face in her hands again. "It's complicated."

"Why?"

"If you ask that one more time I'm gonna throttle you." She growled through her hands, she heard him laugh.

"I'm not here to embarrass you."

"Well, you're doing a bang up job so far." She said looking at him, he sat next to her.

"You're the only one of us that isn't used to being alone. You're alone now, I wanted to help."

"Yeah, well…" She went to make a smart remark but she stopped when she looked up at him. His eyes met hers and she could see he was sincere. She sighed and lowered her head. "Thank you."

"What?"

"Shut up; don't make me say it again." She said looking at him and smiling slightly.

"Sorry. Hard of hearing." He said sticking his pinky in his ear and twisting it.

"Oh, for Nod's sake. Thank you, there, I said it. Thank you." She said pushing him slightly and he smiled.

"You're welcome." He said and they got quiet for a long moment, Mattie staring at her hands and The Fool studying her. "You know…I don't mind."

"Don't mind what?"

"You and…Me." He said and she looked at him.

"'You don't mind'? That's the best you got?" She asked smiling.

"I left my poetry book at Epcot." He said smiling at her and she laughed. "But…I'd still like to know…Why?"

"Why what?" She asked.

"Why me?" He asked and it was sincere, Mattie smiled sadly. She reached over and placed her hand on his.

"Well…It's hard to explain. I…Well I don't think I've ever really felt…Like this before." She said clearing her throat and looking up at him but he was just watching her, as if waiting for something to happen. "You don't believe me, do you?"

"It's…New." He said, giving a lopsided smile.

"Yeah, for me too." She said sighing. "Look. You're…Different, and not just because you're Malkavian. You're even different from them. There's so much to you, you're sweet and then you're out of your mind. You're quiet and then you're dancing with maracas through the halls." She laughed. "You make me laugh."

"You laugh all the time."

"No no. You make me laugh and for the first time I feel like…I'm not laughing alone." She said and her mouth snapped shut at the sudden confession. "That sounded stupid."

"You…Really feel like that?"

"Yeah, I guess. I guess I just didn't realize it until now. You're one of the first Kindred that acknowledge me, all of me. Not just me as my business, or my resources or my usefulness. You've looked at me and I know you can see all of me."

"If I could do that meetings would be awkward." He said wiggling his eyebrows.

"You know what I mean!" She said laughing lightly. "Quit being stupid."

"If I did that you wouldn't like me." He said and she smiled as she looked up at him.

"Yeah…I suppose so. But…Still…It probably isn't a good idea." She said sighing and looking back down to her hands.

"Why not?"

"It's just…Whenever I get close to someone they seem to die."

"So you'd rather stay alone than try?" He asked and she sighed.

"If it meant you'd be alright, yeah."

"Well it's a bit late for that, don't you think?"

"Yeah…"

"Do you regret it? Confessing, I mean." He asked and she sighed.

"No…I'm just. I don't know."

"You're scared."

"I'm not scared." Mattie snapped back looking at him and he smiled as he studied her face.

"Yeah you are, but not of losing me. There's something else."

"Stop doing that fortune telling crap!"

"I'm not, I can just tell."

"It's all the same. I'm not used to people reading me."

"No, you're just not used to someone reading you accurately." He said grinning at her, showing fang.

"I…Well…I still don't like it."

"Come on; tell me what you're afraid of. Are you afraid of others finding out?"

"If I was afraid of that I wouldn't have made out with you in front of the entire Camarilla."

"Mm mm…Yeah, that's true." He said nodding absently. "Am I bad for business?" He asked, gesturing around the office.

"That…Remains to be seen." She said sighing.

"Then what is it?"

"I'm…I'm scared you won't remember me." She said finally, lowering her head.

"What?" He asked, cocking his head.

"Fool…You're…You're insane, you don't remember who you used to be, you don't even remember your real name. Why would you remember me? What if you forget me one day? What if you forget that I…That I matter?" She asked closing her eyes tightly as blood tears began to form again, causing her vision to go slightly pink. The Fool was very quiet; when she looked at him he was looking straight ahead, thinking.

"I…I remember what's important." He said finally, looking at her, his eyes wide, sincere, he was completely lucid for the moment.

"What's important seems to change for us quite a bit. I may not always be important." She said sighing and she felt his hand on hers. "Fool…I do care about you; I can't change that right now. But-"

"Would you if you could?"

"What?"

"Would you change how you feel if you could?"

"No, I don't think I would." She said smiling slightly. "Maybe I'm a glutton for punishment, falling in love with an insane man. It sounds like some horror story."

"Did you just say 'falling in love'?" He asked and she started slightly.

"No I-"

"You totally did say that! You said the L word!" He said jumping up and grinning. "You looove me!"

"Oh shut up." She said if she could blush she would have been. She hid her face as he started dancing around the room. "Quiiiit…"

"Come on." He said grabbing her arm and pulling her up, twirling her around in a bad waltz type of dance.

"Augh! Fool! Let go!" She demanded but she was laughing. He wrapped his arm around her waist and twirled her around the room. "You're going to break something!" He dipped her awkwardly and she yelped as she slipped and they both fell onto the carpeted floor. "You idiot."

"You messed up my balance!" He said pushing himself up, looking down at her. Mattie looked up at him and cleared her throat.

"Let me up, you messed up my dress." She said as she tried to pull her skirt straight in her prone position.

"It's fine." He said smiling and she sighed.

"Let me up anyway."

"No." He said grinning wide and she glared at him.

"Fool…Let me up." She said slowly and he leaned down closer.

"Make me."

"You're such a pain!" She said pushing on him but he didn't move. "Fool! Quit it!"

"Oh, spoiled rich girl isn't getting her way."

"I'm not spoiled!" She said angrily.

"You're on the verge of a tantrum."

"I am not!" She argued then shut her mouth, glaring up at his grinning face. As she did she blinked, why in the hell was she fighting like a child? This wasn't how she got her way, it never had been. She smiled, The Fool's smile faltered slightly and she leaned up and kissed him. He was taken by surprise and sat up; she followed him and pulled away from the kiss. "Hah. Beat you."

"You just wanted to kiss me again."

"Whether that's true or not, I still got my way." She said grinning at him and looking down, fixing her dress carefully. She looked back up at him and he was staring at her. "What?"

"Hm? Oh, hi."

"Hi?" She asked blinking and he smiled.

"Hi."

"Did I lose you again?" She asked, studying his face and he shrugged. "Do you remember why you're here, what just happened?" She asked; feeling slightly scared that she had somehow set him off back to his non-lucid state.

"Yeah, of course." He said smiling and she stared at him.

"I don't think you do."

"Why are we on the floor?"

"Oh Nod." She said and choked slightly. "Please don't do that. Not after I do something like that, don't tell me I caused it."

"What's wrong?" He asked and she reached up, taking his face in her hands.

"Fool, look at me. You've been here almost half an hour, maybe more. Do you remember any of that?" The blank look he gave her was all she needed as answer and she sobbed slightly, pressing her forehead to his. "I knew this was a bad idea. I was so stupid to think that we would work." She whispered, blood-tears falling from her face.

The Fool blinked, his eyes following the tear down her face, bringing up a finger to wipe it away. Mattie pulled away and looked at him; he was staring at his hand, at the blood there on his finger. He brought his finger to his lips and sucked lightly. His eyes suddenly brightened and he blinked, looking up at Mattie.

"Oh Mattie! I'm sorry." He said reaching in his pocket for his handkerchief again, dabbing at her face. "I remember. I do, I'm sorry. I just…I left for a minute."

Mattie stared at him as he gently dabbed her face and she smiled through her tears. In spite of herself she threw her arms around him and buried her face in his shoulder.

"I don't like it when you leave and yet you're right in front of me." She said, muffled through his shoulder. He stayed still for a moment before wrapping his arms around her. He slowly started to rock and she rocked with him. "I wish I could go where you go."

"No…No no, don't say that." He said pulling her away just enough to look at her. "You don't wish that, really."

"Why not? It's like…It's like you can run away and still be around for the important things. I can't do that. I have to deal with all the stupid politics, the stress, the backstabbing." She said, gripping his shoulders tightly. "I want to be able to leave."

"It's not like that at all." He said, wiping away the tears that continued to fall. "I…I can't explain it, but it's nothing like that. Besides, if you leave too, who am I going to come back to?" He asked and Mattie blinked. His smile was real, not a grin, not a smirk, but a real smile. Mattie smiled back and hugged him again.

"Did my blood bring you back? Is that what did it?" She asked, her head resting on his shoulder, as they both sat there in each other's arms.

"I don't know. Maybe." He said quietly. "It's hard to say what brings me back."

"Well…If you go again we can try it, maybe it will work."

"I don't think you want me bound to you."

"I think it takes more than what you just got." She said smiling and sitting up to look at him. "Do you think it would help?"

"I don't know…I wish I did." He said brushing her hair out of her face.

"Well…Think about it. Maybe…Maybe we could try it."

"I'll try to remember." He said resting his forehead against hers and she smiled, nodding.

"Fool?"

"Hm?"

"Don't tell anyone I was…Like this."

"What? Lovey dovey?" He asked smiling.

"No…Crying." She said, taking his handkerchief and wiping her eyes. "Especially panicking like I was."

"It's okay, I won't." He said smiling.

"I just…You're one of the only people I can really trust. I know you don't have any real agenda, or reasons to lie. You're one of the few of us that can be yourself, no matter what." She said putting a hand on his face and smiling. "I trust you, more than anyone else, I trust you."

"You may want to keep that quiet." He said smiling sadly.

"I'm tired of keeping things quiet. I'm tired of lying and being lied to. I'm tired of losing people and being used as a pawn. I know that it's just part of the Camarilla; I know that's our lot in life. But with you, I don't feel like I'm part of anything. I don't feel like you're using me, I don't feel…Like I'm wearing a mask." She said sighing. "I feel real when I'm with you. And I don't want to lose you."

The Fool smiled and nodded. "I'll be here, in some way. I'll do my best to be around for you." He said tapping the side of his head.

"And I'll do my best to help you stay around." She said smiling at him. The Fool smiled and leaned forward, kissing her for the first time. He pulled away and they both grinned at each other, sinking into the floor and simply laying there together, staring up at the ceiling in silence. It was awhile before Mattie spoke again. "Do you think you'll be able to visit me more?"

The Fool was quiet for a moment then turned to her. "I'll try…But…I still don't like it out here much. It's…Loud…"

"But it's so quiet."

"No…I mean here." He said tapping his head. "It's not familiar; I have to focus to make my way around. The…The voices get louder when I don't follow my pattern."

"You don't like it here?" She asked sitting up, noticing his eyes were screwed shut and he was muttering to himself. She sighed and let her question go unanswered, reaching down and running her hand through his hair. "Shhh…It's okay."

The Fool's eyes opened and he blinked a few times, shaking his head. "Sorry."

"Don't be. It okay." She said kissing his forehead gently.

"You're different than I imagined." He said and she looked at him.

"What do you mean?"

"You're gentle…Almost sweet." He said smirking.

"Yeah…Well, don't go spreading that around. I have a reputation." She said smiling and he nodded. "Is that okay?"

"Hm? Oh, yeah. It's nice. People aren't normally…Gentle with me. They either ignore me or…You know, get mad."

"Yeah…I've done that a lot to you. I'm sorry." She said looking at him.

"It's okay, I know you don't mean it. Not many people do. I'm just an easy target."

"Don't say that."

"It's true though, I don't mind. Everything that happens around us, everyone needs an outlet."

"What's your outlet?" She asked and he looked at her, blinking.

"I…I don't know." He said and blinked again, laughing. "I really don't."

"Maybe you should get one." She said smiling at him and he nodded, still laughing to himself, holding his sides. "Or maybe this is it."

"What? Laughing? Yeah…Maybe." He said giggling and wiping a blood tear from his face. "I like making other people laugh, even if it means they get irritated while they do."

"You're good at it." She said smiling at him.

"We all offer something, I guess." He said quietly, staring at the ceiling again.

"Fool? Do you have your own room at Epcot?" She asked looking down at him and he blinked.

"Sometimes."

"What does that mean?"

"I don't always remember where it is." He said shrugging and smiling at her. She laughed and shook her head and stood, walking over to one of her shelves.

"Well…If you ever find it again, I have something for you." She said, The Fool leapt up excitedly and bounced over.

"I like presents." He said smiling and Mattie held out a beautiful harlequin Masquerade mask to him. It was painted in a checked pattern of blue and purple with gold sweeping around the eyes.

"It was…Well…I got it at my first Mardi-Gras." She said smiling. "A long time ago, obviously. But I remember watching the parade and one of the floats had all of the performers wearing masks like these. I was so in love with the way they danced and their costumes, I asked my parents…" She paused and closed her eyes, shaking her head at the mention of her mother and father. "Well…They took me to one of the craft stalls where they were selling them and they bought me this one. Anyway, I…I'd like you to have it."

"It matches my eyes…" He said quietly.

"Mmhmm…And your hair." She said nodding. "I don't believe much in fate but…It's a nice coincidence, anyway."

"Thank you." He said quietly, tying the mask to his belt by the ribbon on either side.

"Be careful, it's porcelain." She said staring at it then looking up at him.

"I promise it won't get broken." He said and Mattie smiled, nodding. "You don't have a lot from when you were human, do you?"

"What? Oh…No, not really." She said leaning against her desk. "I felt it…Better to keep everything separate. I died that day in one way or another, it's better to keep that as close to the truth as possible."

"Did you ever see your family again?" He asked and Mattie sighed, shaking her head and looking down.

"No…" She said. "My…Sire was smart enough to make it look like I had been murdered and left in a back alley somewhere. I wasn't ever permitted to go back to my family."

"Your…Sire, you've never mentioned him before."

"No. He was a bastard, that's all you need to really know." She said shrugging.

"He didn't let you see your family."

"Or even try to look them up to see how they were doing. Like I said, a bastard." She said playing with her hair, looking uncomfortable.

"Sorry…I'll stop."

"No, it's okay. I'm just not one to dwell in the past." She said shrugging, The Fool stepped forward and took her hand gently.

"Me either." He said smiling and she looked up at him, nodding.

"Good." He wrapped his arms around her and she smiled, resting her head on his shoulder and hugging him. After a moment they pulled away and both sat on the couch once again, Mattie sighed heavily. "What are we going to do?"

"About what?"

"Jonathan is leaving…Who's going to be Seneschal now? Who else can we trust with something like that? Who else can take care of Walt like Jonathan could? Who else would…Give so much to protect us?" She asked, slouching in her seat.

"You're really that upset Jonathan is gone? I thought you didn't trust him?"

"Well, I didn't completely, it would be stupid to trust him totally but I certainly trust him with the job more than anyone else within the Camarilla." She said sighing. "I don't want anyone else calling the shots, I've been backstabbed enough."

"I know…I've tried to help…I know I don't do a lot." The Fool said smiling apologetically.

"Yeah, but at least you try. Everyone else is just looking out for themselves, to hell with everyone else. What Jezael did was…Inexcusable. I can understand taking his title, even his property, but taking his home away was petty and cruel." Mattie stood up again and began pacing. "She played at this whole enlightened thing, and the minute she has to kill someone again she does a complete flip on her personality as if it's some sort of excuse to be a complete psychopath. She didn't think about anyone but herself when she forced Jonathan to make that decision. She had him by his balls and instead of just making them even she went even farther. He has nothing now, and he has to leave. And probably even Sandra! Who's going to be the new Sheriff? I actually do trust Sandra, she's one of the few that was real with me and referred to me as a friend. But she's not going to stick around without Jonathan, I wouldn't blame her either. But…We're losing everyone. I'm losing everyone."

She placed her hands on her desk, her back to The Fool and staring angrily downwards. She was roped into the idiotic politics of the Camarilla after staying relatively free from it for decades. And now she was being left behind by everyone to fend for herself, she didn't like politics, especially the ones the Camarilla practiced. They had done nothing but screw her over since she started taking part in them, now she didn't even have anyone supporting her.

"What about you?" The Fool asked quietly.

"Me? What about me?"

"What if you could be the Seneschal?"

"Hah! Not even if they paid me." She said bitterly. "There is no way I'm going to be at the head of that, constantly looking over my shoulder. No, they could give it to me on a silver platter and I'd refuse. I don't want that kind of power."

"You're a strange Ventrue, you know that?" He asked smiling at her.

"I know…I didn't choose it, obviously. I'm good at business and I'm good at making money, I'm not big on getting power unless it helps people. I've got my girls, I help them get what they need and move on. I don't want any of them to stay here forever and so far all the girls I've ever had have become insanely successful. Now with Victoria offering me more responsibilities within the Ventrue…Well…I can only wait to see how that goes. I hope she's not like my sire, she doesn't seem to be so far." She sighed and ran her hands down her face angrily then gasped, looking down at her hands that now had streaks of makeup down them. "Nod damn it."

She flipped her hair in front of her face and walked over to a vanity at the side of the room and digging through the drawers for her makeup.

"What are you doing?"

"Nothing! Just…Stay over there, I messed up my makeup." She muttered as she dug through a makeup bag.

"Need some help?"

"No! No no, I don't want you to see me." She said, keeping her face hidden expertly as she redid her makeup.

"Oh come on…What if we sleep together? Do you wake up with makeup on?" He asked and she paused.

"Yeah, we don't move in our 'sleep' so it doesn't get smeared. I leave it on at night."

"Wow…Women really must envy you." He said smiling, trying to peek around her hair, she smacked his hand away.

"Quit it. It's all messed up and smeared."

"You'll look like me!"

"I don't look like you, shut up." She said finally putting on the final touch and turning to him. "There. Alright. That wasn't funny. And why are you talking about sleeping with me anyway? I didn't think you liked it enough here to visit much, let alone sleep here."

"I could try." He said smiling.

"Hm…" She said smiling to herself.

"What?"

"It's just strange; I never thought you'd think about those sorts of things."

"What? Makeup?"

"No! Sleeping together, even in the most innocent sense. It's funny to say out loud but…I honestly can't picture you sleeping." She said looking down. "You're always just…So full of life, so to speak. It's hard to picture."

The Fool blinked and smiled, taking a step toward her.

"Would you like me to stay today?" He asked, looking toward the clock, it was getting close to dawn.

"Well…Yes, I'd like that but I don't want you to feel like you have to, I'd want you comfortable." Mattie said looking up at him. He placed a hand on her face, caressing her cheek gently.

"I think I'll be alright."

"Yeah?" She asked and he nodded. "Alright."

"Sleep over." He said, impersonating a teenage girl.

"Oh Nod, what have I done?" She said smiling at him. "Come on, I'll show you the bedroom."

"Yeah, I bet you will."

"Stop teasing."

"Why? It's fun to tease you." He said grinning as they left her office and walked into her bedroom. It was a large, spacious room with Victorian style furniture and a large fireplace.

"Make yourself at home." She said casually, gesturing to the room as she walked to her closet.

"Fancy." The Fool said smiling as he looked around the room. "No coffin?"

"No, but the four poster closes up pretty well if I'm especially paranoid." She replied as she stepped behind a beautiful changing screen. The Fool stopped and did a double take.

"What are you doing?"

"Getting into my night clothes. Is that alright with you?" She asked peeking over the top the screen.

"Yeah. Just, the modesty was something I wasn't expecting." He said smirking at her.

"Can't give it all away on the first date, can I?" She said smirking at him as she changed out of her dress into a beautiful nightgown that only reached her thighs. She stepped out from behind the screen and walked over to another vanity, sitting down as she removed bobby pins from her hair. She placed them neatly upon the vanity, she looked in the mirror, she saw thatThe Fool was staring at her. "What?"

"I just realized. I've never seen you with your hair down." He said studying her as she slowly removed the bobby pins, smiling slightly. Her thick, black hair eventually fell down around her face, about half way down her back. "Wow…"

"It takes me the most time in the evening, that's for sure." She said running a soft brush through it until it shined.

"It's beautiful." He said and she smiled.  
>"Thanks." She said looking at him for a moment then sighing. "Alright…Now there's something else I'm gonna do and you're not allowed to tell anyone, alright?"<p>

"Um. Okay." He said cocking his head. Mattie sighed and reached into a drawer, slowly drawing out a cloth and a glass container with liquid inside. She dipped the cloth in the liquid and gently rubbed her face with it, removing her makeup. "Oh! Um…"

"Like I said, don't tell anyone." She said as she removed the makeup from around her eyes, then her lips, finally the pale foundation she wore. Her skin didn't look much different from the white powder she wore. Her lips were pale, as most Kindred's were, and her eyes were still large but looked slightly duller without the dark makeup surrounding them. She stood up as she finished and turned to him, holding her hands out at her sides. "Well, there you go. That's all of it."

"You…Didn't need to do that." He said glancing at her then looking away, smiling slightly.

"What are you smiling at?"

"Nothing…" He said looking back at her, still smiling. "You're just very beautiful. With or without the makeup."

"Yeah, well. The makeup helps the illusion." She said smiling as she sat on the bed.

"What illusion?"

"Being alive. If I didn't wear makeup and still had this pale, perfect skin people would be weirded out."

"You think they look that closely?"

"You'd be surprised." She said shrugging and walking over to sit on the bed. "Would you like something to sleep in? I'm sure I can find something. We keep extra clothes around for the Johns, just in case."

"No…I'll be okay." He said as he removed his jacket and sat next to her, removing the circular glasses he wore.

"Why do you wear those? You don't need them." She said gesturing to the glasses and smiling. The Fool shrugged.

"I don't know, I just like the way they look, I guess." He said smiling at her. "Do you like them?"

"I do but your eyes are so pretty, almost a shame to hide them behind glasses." She said smiling at him, staring at his differently colored eyes. "Do you know why they're like that?"

"No. Just how I am, I guess." He said kicking his shoes off and falling back on the bed. "Ohh…It's so soft."

"Only the best." She said smiling and turning so she could look down at him. "You're sure you're okay to stay?"

"Well it's a little late now." He said gesturing to the clock as it struck six thirty, the sun would be rising in a few moments. Mattie smiled and nodded, crawling around the bed and pulling the thick cloth drapes closed around the four posters. She turned on a light on the wall over the bed and smiled at him.

"Is this alright?" She asked and he smiled, nodding as he crawled up to lay on one side of the bed and Mattie laid next to him. "What time do you normally wake?"

"Probably a little earlier than you." He said shrugging.

"Will you be here when I wake up?" She asked and he smiled, shrugging.

"I don't know." He said and she smiled.

"I'm going to have to get used to that answer, aren't I?" She asked and The Fool giggled.

"Probably." He said and she giggled.

"I'll try to be patient." She said and leaned over kissing him gently.

"You'd be the first." He said taking her hand and kissing it, gently scraping his fangs across the top of her hand. She shuddered and snatched her hand back.

"Don't…Start that." She said, rubbing her hand and biting her lip.

"Like that, did you?" He asked grinning like a Cheshire Cat and she pushed him down so he was laying on his back, then rested her head on his shoulder.

"Go to sleep."

"Good answer." He said wrapping his arm around her and she smiled, shaking her head. It didn't take long for the dawn to affect them both and they fell into the death-like slumber of the Kindred.

Mattie never dreamed much before she had met The Fool, but it seemed he had a talent of entering people's heads while they were sleeping. It seemed he could do it even when he was sleeping.

"You've entered the rabbit hole finally, Alice." Came The Fool's voice and Mattie's eyes opened. She was in a forest clearing, the sun gently shining through the trees. She hissed and scrambled to her feet, backwards right into something. "It's okay, it won't hurt you here."

She turned and The Fool was standing there, smiling at her. He wore an oversized top hat and his clothes ranged in color, fabric and pattern to the point that he was hard to look at. Mattie stared at him for a long moment then laughed.

"What in the world are you wearing?" She asked and The Fool smiled, gesturing to her.

"Nothing stranger than what you are." He said and Mattie blinked, looking down at herself. She was wearing a blue dress with a white apron over it, white stockings and black shoes, her hair was pushed back with a headband.

"What the hell did you do to me?!" She screamed, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Oh shut up, you look cute."

"Cute! I look like a pedophile's wet dream! Get me out of this!"

"Don't you know the story?"

"Of course I know the story but that doesn't mean I want to be part of it, or at least not this part." She said grimacing as she looked down again.

"What part would you play?" The Fool asked, calmly walking circles around her, grinning.

"The Queen of Hearts, clearly. She had style and attitude." She said smiling and The Fool laughed. "And you're not the right part either."

"What? I'm totally The Mad Hatter."

"Yes, you have a lot in common with him but if we're talking about the rabbit hole, you should be the rabbit. You're the one I followed, aren't you?" She said smiling at him and The Fool paused.

"Huh…Never thought about that. But this outfit is so cooooool." He said, pulling at the lapels of his checked, multicolored coat.

"Yeah…Sure, 'cool.'" She said rolling her eyes then looking up, realizing what it was like to see the sun, even if it was a dream. She walked into the center of the clearing and looked up into the sunny sky. The Fool followed her and smiled, looking up as well.

"How long has it been for you?" He asked and she sighed, looking down.

"About sixty years." She said smiling at him. "Are you doing this on purpose or do you just find yourself in these situations and go with it?"

"I thought it would be fun to show you the sun again."

"And the outfits?"

"Indulge me."

"I would if we were awake." She said smirking at him and he smiled, pulling at the collar of his shirt.

"So…What do you want to do?" He asked, changing the subject.

"What? Here?" She asked looking around. "I don't know. What can you do?"

"Almost anything." He said and he was suddenly gone. Mattie blinked and looked around.

"Fool? Fool! Where did you go?" She asked spinning in place. She ran toward the edge of the clearing, looking through the trees. She ran into something hanging from one of the branches and jumped back, thinking it was a snake. But it wasn't, it was striped. Blue and purple, and swaying casually. She looked up and The Fool was lying casually on a branch, now dressed in a blue and purple striped outfit, complete with cat ears and tail he turned his head and grinned wide.

"Any better?"

"Well, at least it matches." She said and he smiled swinging upside down, coming face to face with her as he hung by his legs.

"We could go anywhere." He said smiling and she couldn't help but smile back.

"Where do you want to go?" She asked and The Fool paused.

"You…You want to go where I do?"

"Sure…Why not?" She asked smiling at him and reaching up to mess with his insane, multicolored hair. "I'd like to do something you think is fun."

"Really?" He asked and she nodded. "Huh…"

"No one's asked that before, huh?"

"Nope." He said and she smiled, placing her hand on the back of his neck and kissing him gently. As he returned the kiss she felt the world shift and suddenly he was standing straight and holding her as they kissed. After a moment they pulled away and she smiled up at him, he was dressed in a sort of brightly colored suit with coat tails, his hair slicked back. She looked down and she was in a lovely gown in black, purple and gold. She looked in her hand and there was Masquerade mask there that matched her gown perfectly. She looked at the fool and he had the mask she had given him in his hand.

"What is this?"

"A Masquerade. A real one…An enjoyable one. Not the one we have to deal with every night." He said placing the mask on his face, Mattie did the same. He smiled at her and snapped his fingers, suddenly they were in a lovely, French style ballroom, a complete band played on a stage at one side and dancers suddenly appeared around them. All in beautiful outfits and masks, laughing, talking and dancing together. "Do you like it?"

"It's beautiful." She said quietly as she looked around. He walked up behind her and placed his hands on her shoulders.

"Would you like to dance?" He asked and she smiled, turning toward him.

"Oh yes." She said smiling and he grinned, taking her hand and leading her to the center of floor, walking her around him before placing his hand on her waist and leading her in a proper waltz as if he had been doing it since he was a child.

"You like to dance?"

"Yes…I think so." He said smiling as they made their way around the ballroom.

"You're very good." She said and he nodded.

"Not too bad yourself." He said and she sighed, placing her head on his shoulder.

"You didn't strike me as a romantic."

"It wouldn't be the first time I surprised someone."

"I believe that." She said laughing. As they danced the crowd seemed to move to the edge of the dance floor, allowing them the full space. As The Fool led her through the dance she looked toward the crowd, she could tell a few of them were meant to be her friends. She could tell Sara and Evan were there together, laughing happily behind their masks. Jonathan and Sondra were even there, standing arm in arm and watching them dance. She found herself smiling at the sight of Sondra and Jonathan together as a normal couple.

A moment later the music seemed to muffle and the lights dimmed around them. The crowd faded into the shadows as they grew at the edge of the room. Mattie blinked and looked up at The Fool, his eyes were shut tight and he was muttering to himself again. She stopped dancing and took his shoulders in her hands.

"Fool? Fool, are you alright? Open your eyes, it's okay." She said placing her hand on his face. She looked around for help and there was a single shadow standing there, still as death, staring at them. "Who are you? What do you want?"

"Malkav." The Fool muttered, sinking to his knees. Mattie blinked and put her arms around him.

"Shhh…It's alright." She said then looked toward the shadow. "M-Malkav? Is that you? What do you want?"

The shadow stayed silent but stepped forward into the light. It was indeed the form that Mattie had come to recognize as Malkav or, at least, a part of Malkav.

"It is you." She said standing up. "What are you doing here? What do you want? You're hurting him, please. Leave him alone. Let us have this together."

"He is a piece of a broken mind." Came a whisper and Mattie stood straighter.

"He is NOT broken and he's no part of you." She fired back stepping forward. "He's his own, let him live and leave us alone.

"It is in our blood. Shattered, broken, never whole."

"So that's why you're here? You can't let him feel normal for just a moment? You can't let him have some fun unless it's by your rules?" Mattie asked angrily. "Are you jealous?"

The atmosphere was suddenly heavier and everything got darker. The form of Malkav seemed to grow in front of her.

"Do not presume to know anything of the Malkavian, Ventrue." Replied Malkav.

"My name is not Ventrue, my name is Mattie Reaux and my clan has nothing to do with me. I may have been changed by a Ventrue but that isn't who I am." She said angrily.

"Who are you?" The form replied and she blinked, hearing The Fool give a weak laugh.

"Cater…Pillar…" He said and Mattie looked back at him.

"Caterpillar?" She asked and he opened one eye, smiling at her. Suddenly she was back to the blue and white dress and when she turned Malkav had become a gigantic caterpillar, staring down at her. She stared up at it and smiled. "The smoking caterpillar."

"Who are you?" The caterpillar repeated and she stepped forward once more.

"I am Matilda Josephine Reaux. I am of the Clan Ventrue but my clan does not define me and I'm not about to let someone I love let their clan control them. You may have been a God at one point, according to the books, but now you're nothing but a dream. You ask me who I am. I am someone that loves The Fool and nothing you do can change that." She said and the caterpillar leaned down, coming very close to her face, blowing blue smoke around her.

"Malkavians do not love." It said and she glared up at it.

"Take another look. Maybe it's just you that can't. You sit there and lie to Walk, let him think you're his dead wife. You're cruel, downright sick." She said, turning her back to the caterpillar and walking back to The Fool, helping him up. She ran her hands through his hair and held his face in her hands. "Fool? I need you to focus, I need you to look at me. It's Mattie. I know you're not always all there, I know there are times where you see only the Cobweb and what's to come but I need you to focus on me right now, not the future, not the past."

"M-Mattie…" He whispered softly, his eyes fluttering open. His eyes were unfocused, almost as if he was blind or maybe just seeing something else.

"Fool…Look at me, ignore the cobweb, ignore Malkav, ignore it all, and look at me right now." She said and forced him to look down to her. His eyes slowly focused on her face and he blinked a few times as he stared at her.

"Mattie…It hurts." He said and she smiled.

"I know, it's okay. I'll be here for all of it. I'll help you through it." She said bringing his face toward hers and kissing him gently. The Fool gasped slightly then wrapped his arms around her, tightly, as if he felt she'd slip away. He returned the kiss happily, lifting her up off her feet as he did. Mattie saw out of the corner of her eye, the caterpillar shrink slightly.

"You're willing give yourself to a Malkavian…It will only serve to shatter you as well." Came the whispered voice. She slowly pulled away from The Fool and faced the caterpillar.

"Well, if that comes about then I'll deal with it. Until then, I forbid you to enter my head again." She said and the caterpillar finally shrank into nothingness, she felt the edges of the dream blur and begin to close in. She turned to The Fool. "Will you remember this?"

He smiled and shrugged. "We'll see."

"Well…At the risk of having to repeat myself when I wake up." She grabbed him and kissed him again. "I love you."

The Fool blinked and smiled wide at her, as he opened his mouth to reply the edges of the dream crumbled and she was left in the darkness of their sleep.

She awoke with a gasp and sat straight up in bed, looking frantically around the bed. She scrambled for the curtains and opened them so she could see. The Fool wasn't in the bed. She started and quickly scrambled out of the bed, grabbing her robe and throwing it around her.

"Fool? Fool? Are you here?" She called, looking around the room frantically. "Ig! Sed! Met!"

The gargoyle's faces appeared out of the walls and looked at her. "Yes, Mistress?"

"The Fool? Is he here?" She asked and the gargoyle's paused.

"The mad one has left. He awoke at dusk and left once the sun had fully set." He replied and she blinked.

"Oh…I…Okay. Thank you." She said and the gargoyles nodded slowly and disappeared into the walls. Mattie blinked and sat down on the bed, sighing and running her hand through her hair. "Well…That…Hurts more than I thought it would."

She pulled her knees to her chest and sighed, looking down at where he had been laying.

"Not even a note." She muttered quietly.

"I thought breakfast would be more fitting." The Fool's voice came as he walked into the room, grinning at her. A few blood bags in his hand and a paper under his arm. "Turns out one of your regular customers is a frequent blood donor. Who'd have thought?"

"Y-you went out to find blood I could drink?" She asked and he smiled, sitting next to her.

"Well…You have no girls, therefore no customers, therefore no blood for your sensitive Ventrue palate. Had to do something for you, couldn't just eat on my own and let you go hungry." He poured one of the blood bags into a wine glass from her office and handed it to her.

"How did you know he's one of my customers?" She asked, smelling the blood.

"Gary helped me out." He said and Mattie choked as she sipped the blood.

"Y-you told Gary?!"

"What? That we're a thing? No…Just that I was getting you some breakfast." He said shrugging and Mattie set the wine glass down.

"He's going to figure something's off! You leave Epcot for the first time probably ever and it's to bring me breakfast. Gary's going to figure it out really quick. Oh noooo." She said covering her face and falling back onto the bed.

"I thought you weren't embarrassed by us?" The Fool asked.

"I'm not but Nosferatu deal in information, more so than a lot of the Clans. If he knows we're together he might figure out a way to use it against me or you." She said sighing.

"Isn't he your business partner?"

"All the more reason for him to have leverage." She said, covering her face with her pillow. "Oh Nod help me."

"You're funny when you're stressed." He said smiling and taking the pillow away from her. "Everything's fine, he was happy to help."

"Of course he was!" She said and groaned as The Fool forced her to sit up, handing the glass of blood back to her.

"Finish your breakfast." He said and she glared at him, snatching the glass of blood from him and sipping it. He smiled and sat down, flipping through the paper he brought up. "Oh…By the way."

He placed the paper down and turned to her, kissing her gently.

"I love you too." He said and Mattie, with the blood fresh in her system, blushed brightly.

They both were two drinks into each other, Mattie never really realized what that would mean until Sara had a sit down with her and really explained it. She immediately offered to return the favor to The Fool once she understood. She wasn't sure whether to be scared or relieved when he agreed. She was happy to, of course, she'd never bonded to anyone in the past and it seemed everyone else had recently and were doing just fine with the situation.

She should have expected it to be different with a Malkavian.

The moment her fangs sunk into his neck it was like being alive again, surpassing by far even her best feeding on any human. She had fed on just about every kind of blood there was, even the ones with drugs in their systems. It was a hell of a rush but it was nothing like this. All at once, radiating out from her core she felt deeper, or maybe she was just seeing deeper. She got memories, emotions, everything The Fool let her have in those two drinks.

He was old, Nod damn it, he was old; And so powerful. But he rarely used it, and never let others catch onto it, he didn't want to be looked at as some God among the Kindred, even though he drank from one they still thought of as a God. She could just barely feel what it must have been like for him to drink from Malkav. Everything opened up and you were left dangling on the edge of some great chasm, darkness above and beneath. You were small, nothing compared to what you were partaking in and it left you feeling torn apart yourself.

She came back to herself, whole again but much more in her head. She didn't feel insane but she felt like she had been torn open and tossed about, before being shoved back into her pretty package and set down gently. She stumbled back from The Fool and leaned against the wall.

"Head rush, huh?" He asked smiling at her; she looked at him, imagining she looked half crazed herself.

"That's…One way to put it." She said licking her lips and shuddering. "I…Wow."

"You alright?"

"Dizzy…"

"Here." There was suddenly a chair behind her and she laughed, she had learned not to ask questions by now. She sat down, holding her head for a moment before sitting up straight and smiling at him.

"I can see how that can get addicting." She said laughing. "It must have been so boring when you drank from me."

"Not at all, it's always a ride, no matter who it is." He said shrugging. "What did you see?"

"Well…I saw…I think I saw one of the first cities they always talk about, not really sure which one." She said smiling at him. "Your eyes haven't changed a bit since then; they're still…Young, in a strange way."

"Oh yeah?" He asked fluttering his eyes and she laughed.

"You're so…Different." She said shuddering. "It sounds stupid but it's true."

"No, it doesn't sound stupid." He said placing a hand on hers. "You gonna be okay?"

"Yeah. I'll be fine." She said smiling at him and biting her lip. "I…I want to do it again."

"What?"

"It was like having sex again…I want to do it again."

"Hey, calm down." He said laughing and she smiled.

"Yeah…Sorry." She said shuddering and looking up at him. "Oh here…" She stood up and leaned against him, licking over the wound and healing it. He shuddered and she smiled as she pulled away, holding the last bit of blood in her mouth for a moment before swallowing it. "Mmmm."

"You're sure you're alright?" He asked.

"Yeah, don't worry. It just felt good." She said and he smiled, nodding.

"Yeah, I know."

"Was it that good when you fed off of me?"

"Oh, yes." He said smiling.

"What memories did you see?" She asked and he looked at her then down. "What?"

"Um…Well, there was…A lot a sex." He said and she laughed.

"Well, yeah. Comes with the job."

Mattie's party didn't go as expected but that didn't mean it wasn't a success. She was able to spend a relatively drama free night with her friends, who came to her aid when they realized what the Toreador primogen had tried to do, scheduling a party for herself on the same night and they made sure that by the end of the night Mattie's party was the successful one.

And, she had not only gotten to dance with The Fool but he had spent the entire night under the open sky, something that, to her knowledge, he hadn't done ever. As they walked back to the crypts together, having been the last ones to leave aside from the cleaning crew, they were both silent. As they stepped back into the crypts she did feel The Fool relax a bit beside her.

She glanced at him but didn't say anything as they walked to her room, after a moment he smiled.

"I can kinda tell what you're thinking." He said and she smiled.

"Didn't want to ruin the moment." She said looking at him as they walked into her room.

"I had fun tonight…" He said and it was Mattie's turn to relax a bit as he said that.

"I'm happy to hear that." She said smiling at him as she sat down and slipped her shoes off, placing them to the side gently. "…Thank you."

"Thank you…" He said and she stood up, wrapping her arms around him and holding him tightly. He returned the embrace, resting his cheek on top of her head. "Good Lord."

"What?"

"I never realized how short you are." He said pulling away slightly and smiling wide at her.

"Don't you dare tease me at the end of the best night I've had in a long time." She said glaring up at him and he laughed.

"Okay, I'll save it for another night."

She scoffed and stepped away from him, rolling her eyes and beginning to take her hair down.

"I don't know why I put up with you."

"You're not the only one." He said smiling as he took off his cloak and set it aside, placing his mask on top of it. Mattie stepped into the connected bathroom and began combing her hair.

"Do me a favor?"

"Hm?"

"My dress."

"What about it?"

"Unzip it, of course!" She said and he blinked.

"Oh, right." He said walking into the bathroom and taking a moment to look at her before, clearing his throat. "Do they have to make the zippers so small?"

"Thousands of years old and you can't figure out a zipper?" She asked smirking at him in the mirror.

"I haven't undressed a lot of women in my time." He muttered and Mattie blinked, raising an eyebrow.

"Is that right?" She asked slyly and The Fool's eyes widened slightly, before he got very focused on sliding the zipper down. "Well?"

"Well what?" He asked stepping back as he finished with her dress, still not meeting her eyes.

"Ah, there it is." She said turning around to face him, holding her dress up.

"There's what?"

"The male ego, still there after all those years. Guess it really is programmed into you." She said laughing and he grumbled. "Oh, so you're allowed to tease me but I'm not allowed to do the same?"

"You want me to start? I'll start, honey." He said smiling at her and she raised an eyebrow. She smiled and lifted her arms, letting her dress fall away to the floor, now nude in front of him. The Fool's eyes widened and she placed her hands on her hips.

"Go ahead…Start." She said and he looked at her for a moment before shaking his head, leaving the room. She laughed triumphantly and turned back to the mirror to remove the rest of her bobby pins in her hair. She came out a moment later, still nude and The Fool was sitting on the bed. "You okay?"

"That…Um…" He stammered, looking up at her and turning away.

"Oh, it's like high school all over again." She said walking over to him and smiling.

"It…Affected me more than I thought it would." He muttered and she blinked, kneeling in front of him.

"Affected you how?" She asked and he smiled.

"In as much as it can affect me. You're…You're very beautiful." He said and Mattie smiled, standing up and hugging him gently. It took him a bit longer to return the embrace this time, as his hands caressed her bare flesh they shook slightly. "I'm sorry."

"Shhhh…It's alright." She said pulling away from him and smiling. "You know, not to brag, but I've heard those words my entire life by many men and women from everywhere in every situation. But, when you say it, you're the first one to really mean it. And it means more than I could ever tell you."

"I'm glad…" He said smiling up at her and she smiled, kissing his forehead and grabbing a robe from the closet and wrapping it around herself. He cleared his throat and looked down at himself, his red outfit matching hers perfectly. "Should I show you mine?" He asked smiling and she laughed.

"No, you don't have to do that. I don't want you to be uncomfortable anymore tonight; you've done so much for me tonight I couldn't ask you for more." She said sitting next to him and taking his hand. "Thank you, for everything."

"You're welcome." He said smiling at her and standing up, unbuttoning his shirt. Mattie blinked and raised an eyebrow, he shrugged.

"I'm not sleeping in the whole outfit."

"Can't you change clothes just like that?" She asked, snapping her fingers, she had seen him walk behind pillars and come out from behind them completely changed.

"I can but…"

"You're teasing…" She said smirking and he looked at her, smiling a bit as he removed his shirt. Mattie smiled and sat back, happily watching him undress. "You're definitely at least part god."

He laughed awkwardly and she grinned at him, enjoying the sight of his bare skin. He tossed his shirt aside and crawled onto the bed, lying down next to her. She smiled and removed the robe, lying next to him and sighing happily.

"Are you going to stay put until tomorrow night?" She asked as she laid her head on his chest and he shrugged.

"Maybe." He said and she laughed.

"You're such a pain." She said, but the way she said it almost sounded like a compliment. She put her arms around him and kissed his chest gently. "See you tomorrow."

"Mmhmm." He said, sounding like he was already half asleep.

When she woke up the next night she was surprised to still feel The Fool beside her on the bed, though he was sitting up, completely dressed and reading a book.

"How early do you get up?"

"Couple hours before you." He said smiling at her and closing his book.

"Wish I could get up that early."

"You'll rise earlier as you get older."

"Is that right? Looking forward to it." She said sitting up and stretching. "Is that another melodramatic book where the fool dies?"

"Already told you-"

"The fool always dies. Yeah, yeah…I'm going to get you some magazines to read or something, don't we have enough drama to deal with without you delving into this stuff?" She asked, picking up the book and thumbing through it.

"They're classics."

"They're depressing." She fired back tossing the book back to him.

"They teach us things." He replied quietly, staring at the book. "Things that we sometimes forget."

"There are things we can learn that are comforting." She said, raising an eyebrow.

"Like what?"

"Are you kidding?" She asked, staring at him.

"I just want to hear what you think is nice to learn or relearn." He said smiling at her.

"Well…" She said smiling and crawling over to him. "There are lessons on love, beauty, truth, humor."

"What books have those?" He asked smiling.

"Well, the classic romantic books."

"What? Like Romeo and Juliet?" He asked smiling and she rolled her eyes.

"No, I hate that story. Two stupid teenagers running off together and getting everyone killed." She muttered. "No I mean real romance like The Princess Bride. That's a good one."

"Oh, didn't think you were that well versed in the more modern novels." He said smiling.

"I just don't like computers, why does everyone think I stopped noticing anything about the world after I was turned?" She growled, falling back onto the bed. The Fool stared at her for a moment, she was still nude and it still got to him.

"I…I didn't say that. You just don't seem like the type to read books like that."

"I may be dead but I'm still a woman, I like romance just as much as the next girl. Like what you did last night well…" She smiled and sat up, looking at him. "It was the most romantic thing anyone has ever done for me."

The Fool smiled and shrugged. "I was happy to do it, you deserved something like that, especially last night." He said.

"I'm going to stake that primogen into the ground myself."

"Oh, there's the anger. I was wondering when it would come around." He said smiling and Mattie smiled.

"She has some real nerve doing what she did."

"We fixed it."

"I know and that was amazing of you, of everyone, to do for me." She said smiling and sighing, putting her face in her hands. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't be angry, you made last night amazing, you were there for me. Even if you had been the only one to show…Well, it would have made it all worth it."

"Don't get misty now." He said smiling and hugging her to him.

"Sorry." She said laughing and sighing. "I'm surprised you've stayed in one spot this long."

"Yeah…I gotta go, though." He said looking down at her and she smiled.

"I figured you would eventually, it's okay. I've taken up enough of your time." She said sitting back and sighing.

"Don't say that. If I had a choice you'd take up all of my time." He said smiling, taking her chin in his hand. "I just have some things I've been working on, they're really important. I promise they're worth the time you're losing from me."

"I believe you." She said smiling and leaning forward, kissing him gently. "I'll see you later."

"Bye." He said and when she opened her eyes, he was gone. She sighed and allowed herself to lie on the bed, hugging her pillow for a while before finally getting up and beginning the night.

"So, this form goes on this page here right?" Jenna asked as she sat at Mattie's desk and Mattie smiled, nodding.

"That's right; you just transfer whatever box value it tells you to, it's really easy. Especially since you know how to use the computer." She said smiling and Jenna nodded. Mattie cringed as the sound of hammering came from the room next door, which was to be Jenna's new office. "If they damage my walls I'm gonna eat them."

"No you won't." Jenna said simply and Mattie smiled.

"No I won't but I'll make them think I will." She said standing up and sighing. "So, how are you feeling about this now that you've learned just about everything?"

"I think…I think I've got it." She said smiling and Mattie nodded.

"Good. This is the first time I've ever trusted anyone with my business affairs, I hope you know what that means."

"It means you trust me."

"I do. I also trust you should anything happen to me." She said simply.

"Now don't go getting all dramatic, Miss Mattie."

"It isn't dramatic when it's the truth, Jenna." Mattie said smiling. "Things are more complicated for me now than they've ever been. I've got more responsibilities, more friends, more enemies and more money. There are good things that will come of this, but there's always the chance of something bad happening. I've told you exactly what happened with Theresa and Rose, it's all because of how my life has changed. You know just about as much as I do now about everything, that's a lot of information for me to trust you with."

"You could always…You know." Jenna made a fang gesture with her hand.

"No. I'm not doing that." Mattie said sighing and shaking her head.

"Why not?"

"Because now I have enough on my plate, worrying about bringing in a new Kindred to the fold directly under my care, I couldn't do it. Not now, I couldn't give you the proper lessons in how we live. Maybe…Maybe one day, but not anytime soon."

"But Mattie."

"Drop it, Jenna." Mattie said looking at her and Jenna sighed, going back to the paperwork in front of her. There was silence for a long moment and Mattie sighed. "You've proven yourself in a lot of ways, Jenna. But so did Theresa…And so did someone else, a long time ago. They've all died. Until I know that you'll be absolutely safe under the care of the city and me, I can't change you. It's too much risk. Besides, being a Ventrue isn't the best thing."

"Yeah, you've mentioned that." Jenna said quietly. "I just want to help you."

"And you are, you're doing just fine as a human. Until I feel you need the change, I'm not going to just give it to you." She said sitting down.

"Alright…I'll drop it." She said and Mattie nodded.

"Thank you." She said sitting back.

"You know…With all of the information you've given me about vampires and their society. There's something you haven't talked a lot about." Jenna said smiling at her, Mattie turned and raised an eyebrow.

"What?"

"This fella you're seeing." Jenna said and Mattie smiled, turning away.

"There's not much to say." She said quietly and Jenna smiled, standing up and walking over to her.

"Oh, come on. You have to tell me something. Give me his name at least?"

"He…He doesn't really go by a traditional name." Mattie said smiling.

"What does he go by?"

"The Fool."

"Now there's no need for name calling."

"No…That's what he goes by. The Fool."

"The…Fool. Um…Alright."

"Told you there wasn't much to say."

"Well, he's a vampire obviously. Is he a Ventrue?"

"No, he's a Malkavian."

"A milk-what now?" Jenna asked and Mattie laughed.

"A Malkavian, another clan. They're all…Well…They're all unique."

"You're vampires, how much more unique can you get?"

"You can suffer a serious mental illness from the time you were changed and be over two thousand years old." Mattie said and Jenna sat straight, her eyes wide.

"Wait…What?" She asked and Mattie laughed again.

"Still wanna know about him?"

"He's crazy? Literally crazy?" She asked and Mattie smiled.

"Yes, in his own, quite charming way."

"Is he dangerous?"

"Oh, I have no doubt. But you wouldn't guess it." She said smiling at her. "He likes wearing bright colors and acting his namesake, but he's one of the most powerful vampires in the city."

"And you're dating him?"

"And partially blood bound to him, but I've returned the favor so we're kind of as close as vampires get to married. Or actually engaged at this point."

"Holy hell, Miss Mattie. And you haven't told any of us this?" Jenna said, her mouth hanging open slightly.

"There's more, but it would involve quite the history lesson, one that I'm not educated enough to give." She said laughing and Jenna sighed.

"Well…Could I meet him?"

"Um…That may be slightly difficult."

"Why?"

"He doesn't…Really go outside…Ever." She said.

"At all?"

"He doesn't like the sky."

"What?! Are you kidding?" She asked and Mattie laughed.

"He's a good man, you just have to follow some rules." She said smiling at her. "There's nothing to worry about."

"Nothing to…What if he hurts you?" She asked and Mattie looked at her.

"Trust me when I say that there is no danger of that, he's not homicidal or violent. He's just slightly unbalanced, there's nothing wrong with that."

"Mattie…I don't know if this is the best idea."

"It's not an idea, it's a feeling and there isn't a lot of control for me to have over it." She said looking at her and raising an eyebrow.

"Do you love him?" Jenna asked and Mattie smiled, looking down for a moment.

"Yes, I think I do." She said and Jenna sat back, chewing on her lip nervously.

"Does he love you?"

"In his own way, yes." She said smiling.

"Is his own way enough?"

"More than I could have ever asked for." She said and Jenna studied her for a long moment before sighing and smiling.

"You're pretty taken with him, huh?"

"I am." She said.

"Why, if I can ask?"

"Funny, he asked the same thing. There's a lot to it, when I first saw him he was mopping a floor and I had no idea who he was. He was just this multicolored, slightly hyper, vampire that talked a mile a minute and every other word just made me laugh." She said, smiling as she remembered. "He's the primogen of the Malkavians, I found out soon after. But it didn't change anything, he was still this goofy Malkavian that danced around and told jokes in the most serious situations."

"He was comic relief."

"Exactly. But then, not too long after…He went lucid. He started speaking in riddles, something about seeing what no one else can. I was there while he was lucid, hugging himself and talking about how he was being controlled by a bigger force, that wouldn't let him tell us what was going to happen, even though he knew. Not long after things started to get bad. Deaths, betrayals, everything that as a vampire you kind of have to get used to." She said sighing. "And he knew it all but couldn't tell us, and it killed him, I could see that it did."

"He knew Theresa would die?"

"I don't know, but he knew how I felt after it happened." She said sighing. "He'd appear in mirrors, or my dreams, or just the room I was sitting in to talk in circles with me for a little while then just disappear. I was mad at first, thinking he was making some play at being a fortune teller. I hate fortune tellers. But I quickly found out that it's his way of helping, his only way."

"He can't just give you straight answers?"

"No, at least not most of the time. You have to look at his words from his perspective, sort of and try to translate them into complete thoughts." She said smiling. "When he does speak straight it's only about how much he sees and how he has to suffer through the visions in the Cobweb."

"The Cobweb?" Jenna asked and Mattie smiled.

"It's a sort of…Third eye Malkavians have, they can see connections across things and people. He showed it to me."

"Showed it? How?"

"In a dream." She said smiling. "He took me flying and showed it all to me and my friends. So we could understand how he gets the information he gives us."

"You know this sounds…"

"Crazy? Oh yes, I know." She said shrugging. "That's just part of the deal, being with a man like that."

"How did you get…Bound?"

"Oh…He has a nasty habit of getting himself hurt in front of me and…I never really thought about what it would mean to feed him my blood I just…I couldn't see him laying so still, bleeding." She closed her eyes and hugged herself. "When you get used to a person bringing life into your existence, seeing them almost dead makes you forget everything but making them wake up again. So, I cut a vein and made him drink."

"And that blood bound you?"

"It takes three drinks to be completely bound. We're two in."

"So…That was the first one, what about the second one?"

"It…It wasn't too long ago. When I told you and the girls to leave the city, we were being attacked by some serious monsters. They made it into the crypt and they were going after our Prince, The Fool knew what was going to happen and used his blood to awaken…A very powerful vampire, the one that began the Malkavian clan."

"What?"

"Yeah…Malkav, the original mad vampire. Or at least she claims she is." She said sighing. "She kept our Prince from getting killed but The Fool about killed himself in the process. He…He carved my name into his arm, to make sure I was the one that would wake him up."

"How…"

"Dramatic, I know. He likes it that way." She said smiling slightly. "But…Again, I didn't even think. I ran to him and opened a vein."

"What happened?"

"He…He transported me or…My mind at least and spoke to me more about what he really is."

"What do you mean?"

"He's one of the vampires that originally fed from Malkav, after he was torn apart. It's a long story. That's how I found out how old he was and what his other names were."

"Names? Plural?"

"Everything has more than one name." Mattie said, quoting what both Malkav and The Fool had told her. "To Malkavians knowing something's name gives you power over it, more so back in the old days. Malkav calls him her 'Clever Prince' he called himself Nissiku."

"Nissiku…I think I like The Fool better." Jenna said and Mattie laughed.

"Me too."

"So…He's really two thousand years old?"

"Give or take…He said he chased Jesus off his lawn."

"Good God, Mattie." She said and Mattie laughed.

"Yeah…Pretty much."

"You say he's powerful…What does that mean?"

"Well, apparently he has the ability to sort of…Change reality or at least mess with it in a way that no one else can." She said smiling. "I don't claim to understand it, I know I never will."

"Damn it, Mattie. What have you done?"

"I fell in love." She said looking at Jenna and smiling. Jenna returned the smile and shook her head.

"I need a drink."

"Yeah…That sounds good." She said and they both walked downstairs to the bar.

"So, what's it like to drink another vampire's blood?" Jenna asked. They were alone in the bar in thick cushioned seats in front of the fireplace. Mattie smiled and sipped her glass of blood mixed with wine.

"It's…Hard to explain. It's like having your favorite food, amazing sex and getting high all at once." She said licking her lips absently then shaking her head. "I'll admit, I want to do it again. Badly. It's the closest thing I've had to sex since I was turned."

"You've had sex before." Jenna said looking at her.

"Had it, sure. Enjoyed it, not so much."

"You're a madam of a brothel and you don't like sex?"

"After you're turned it…Actually hurts quite a bit."

"Are you serious?"

"Yup."

"That sucks."

"Yup." Mattie said, laughing. "But, like I said. When I drank from the Fool it was…All of those things and then some. I saw some of his memories and feelings, it was almost like sharing a hundred late night, deep conversations in a sip."

"You see people's memories when you feed from them?" Jenna asked and Mattie smiled.

"Yup."

"Even the Johns?"

"Especially the Johns." She said smiling and sitting back.

"That must give you a hell of an advantage."

"It does, yeah. Tells me almost exactly what they're looking for every time, very useful." She said nodding and sipping her wine.

"What did you see? From him, I mean." Jenna asked. "He must have had some crazy memories if he's that old."

"Oh yes, but it was also hard to make sense of a lot of it. The way he sees things is very different, and the past is a bit fuzzy for him. I think he likes to focus more on what he has now and the future." She said smiling. "It was mostly just confused images and people with fuzzy faces. I imagine, if we ever get to the third drink, it will be a little clearer."

"So you said that's like vampire marriage?"

"Pretty much, it's a very deep connection. We have the ability to kind of call each other or suggest things to each other, that's why I had to give him the same power over me as I had over him. I didn't like the idea that he may only be around because we're blood bound. I had to know that…It was more than that."

"Having someone that powerful under your suggestion is pretty tempting, I imagine."

"Not really, if it came down to me needing something from him I would ask, not command. I care for him too much to start making commands. Besides, I'd hate to see what he commanded me to do in return." She said smiling slightly.

"Kinky."

"Don't start." She said smiling and Jenna laughed.

"Well, he sounds like…Quite the catch."

"I'll see if I can introduce you, you'll see his charm first hand. It's hard to explain, he's just fun to be around in most situations."

"Except when he's bleeding out."

"Yeah. I hope to Nod I never have to see him hurt like that again." She said taking a deep breath, even though she didn't need to breathe.

"I'm glad to see you so happy, Miss Mattie. It's nice to see you focus on something other than work." Jenna said smiling at her and Mattie nodded.

"Thank you Jenna. You do a lot for me and I don't thank you nearly enough."

"Don't worry about it, Miss Mattie. I know you thank me in your own way."

"You know, Jenna…There's a sort of in between to changing you and leaving you human." Mattie said after a moment of silence.

"Is there?"

"Not exactly the prettiest name but I could make you my ghoul."

"Isn't that a zombie?"

"No no, well at least not to us." She said laughing. "You basically drink some of my blood and you get some of the vampire abilities. Strength, speed and you don't age."

"What?"

"As long as my blood is in your system you won't age." She said smiling. "But there's a downside."

"Which is?"

"You're basically going to become an addict. If you don't get my blood at least once a month, you go through withdraw." She said looking at her and smiling.

"Oh…"

"Yeah. You still have to eat and drink, go through all of your normal human functions. But you get stronger, faster; you can even learn some of my abilities if you focus enough."

"You mean that thing you do with your eyes that makes people listen to you?"

"More or less." She said smiling at her.

"That would be useful."

"It's not an unlimited thing, it takes energy to do." She said looking at her. "And that's only if you learn it."

"It sounds…Mostly good."

"You know what…Jonathan has enough girls to populate a small country. I'll get you over there to talk to them, see what they have to say and then you can think about it, alright?" She said and Jenna smiled, nodding.

"That sounds fair."

"We'll make a plan for it, then." She said smiling at her and sitting back to stare at the fire.

"Thank you, Miss Mattie." Jenna said and Mattie smiled, lifting her glass to her.

"To a long life."

"And a successful one." Jenna said, clinking her glass against hers gently.

It was gone; the house she had lived in since she came into the city was gone. Blown away by some Nod damn hunter who had it in his mind he was doing God's work before he blew himself away. She unpacked the last of her clothes and other items that she could salvage from the house and sat on the unfamiliar bed, staring at the sparse walls. It was all very comfortable, much like a nice hotel room, but it wasn't hers. All of the things in her office, which were some of her most personal possessions, blown away by some self-righteous hunter. She changed into her form fitting nightgown and sat at the simple desk in the room, writing off a few things to take care of the next day.

"How you feeling?" Came a voice, she barely jumped, used to The Fool's sudden appearances by now. She looked over her shoulder and smiled at him, sitting on her bed cross legged like a child.

"Hey, I'm alright." She said quietly as she placed her pen down and turned toward him. "How are you?"

"Liar." He said smiling at her and she sighed, standing.

"Yeah, I know. I'm just a little homesick, I suppose." She said walking over and sitting next to him. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm great." He said shrugging. "You wanna talk about it?"

"What's there to say? My house and place of business was blown away and I've had to shut everything down until the foreseeable future." She said shrugging. "I just will feel a little…Useless for the next few weeks."

"You won't be useless." He said smiling at her. "I mean, you'll be right here so all the drama will be right on your doorstep. Besides, aren't vacations a good thing?"

"Not for me." She said laughing. "I'm going to be out of my mind with boredom."

"Oh, you poor thing." He said bumping her with his shoulder. "I could keep you busy."

"Ohh, is that right?" She asked turning toward him and smiling. "And how do you plan to do that?"

"I'm sure I could figure something out." He said smirking and she giggled, leaning forward and running her hand through his hair.

"Uh huh…Like what?"

"You could tie me up again." He said grinning.

"Liked that, did you?" She asked biting her lip.

"Uh huh." He said, running a finger up her arm. She shuddered and leaned over, kissing him gently.

"Well…That's a start." She said.

An hour or so later they lay together, having exhausted the options currently available to them. Mattie traced a finger along his chest and sighed. Little scrapes from Mattie's fangs reddened his skin in places, but she shared a few marks herself from his.

"Didn't mean to draw blood." He said tracing the lines on her breasts he had caused, now healed by his tongue.

"I'm not complaining." She said smiling at him. "I'll be sure to pay you back for that."

"Mmmm…Looking forward to it." He said sighing as he laid back and she laid her head on his chest.

"It's hard not to suck you dry when I'm at your neck."

"Thank…You?" The Fool said and she laughed.

"You know what I mean." She said lightly slapping his chest.

"I do, trust me." He said, nodding.

"So, what do you want to do now?"

"Mmmm…I dunno, I'm pretty content here." He said sighing happily.

"Works for me." She said kissing his chest lightly. "I'm glad that staying here means I get more time with you."

"Mmm…Me too."

"And now that they babies are all done and performing well you don't have anything to distract you from me, right?"

"Not at the moment." He said happily and she climbed on top of him straddling him and caressing his chest.

"Mmmm…I'm gonna put you through the ringer, sweetie."

"The ringer?" He asked raising an eyebrow and she grinned.

"I've been a whore for longer than most humans live…I've got things I've wanted to try with a willing participant."

"Have you had…Unwilling participants?" He asked cocking his head.

"Only those that acted like it." She said giggling. "But I can't wait to see your reaction. I'd like to see if I can surprise someone that's lived for as long as you have."

"Well…Good luck. I can't wait."


End file.
